Drafted better 23

They had quite possibly one of the worst drafts this last year that I have ever seen. They are not good enough to draft for position, so they should've taken best player available. Right as I thought they were gonna take Michkov, Leonard, Benson, or one of those guys, they taken Dmitri Simashev. I had to google that guy to figure out who he even was. He was ranked in the high 2nd round on Craig Button's rankings. The came their 12th overall pick, which I thought was gonna be Nate Danielson, Zach Benson again (somehow), Yager, Pelikka, etc. But no, it was But. Good player, but ranked 30th on Button's rankings.

If the Coyotes were smart and those were the two players they wanted in the first round for whatever reason, they should taken the Preds up on their offer. 6th overall for Askarov and a 1st (15th overall). They still could've taken Simashev there, or someone better. They could've even flipped that pick for a later first plus something and still could've probably gotten Simashev. Come on Coyotes. This is why they're playing in a college arena and are somehow not even the most competitive team calling that rink home.

That is why Arizona stinks year in and year out.
At 6 the D man they got was a reach and at 12 a big reach.
As a Sabres fan watching it I thought Benson was going to Philly at 7. Thought Danny Briere would have taken him. But after Philly didn’t and Benson kept falling I was so happy. The kid is a player

if you never heard of Simashev that says more about you. He was ranked top 10-15 in many reports, the issue is that they could've gotten him at 12

Time will tell if you and the public lists are correct or if the armature scouting team that AZ put together is. I am going to leave my trust with the guys that built Stanley Cup rosters instead of keyboard warriors.

I wasn't aware of who Shimashev and But were either until after their draft. I went back and have watched a fair bit of video on both. But reminds me of a bigger, stronger, faster Corey Perry, major difference is But has a WAY better shot then Corey Perry. I watched a tournament that they played in Belarus to watch Shimashev. The puck never got to the net while he was on the ice. Guy could control both dots and net front at the same time with his reach and strength. They can't win if they can't score and Shimashev didn't let anyone score while he was on the ice.

I am aware that AZ maintains two amateur scouts that are still actively scouting Russia and Belarus, most teams have stopped scouting practices in these countries due to the war. I am aware that the AZ GM and senior armature scouts snuck into Belarus to get live viewings of Shimashev and But. Also AZs armature scouting group is comprised of the primary scout that built the Tampa Bay Stanley Cup winning roster, the primary scout that built the current crop of players that Buffalo is rising with, and the primary scout that built the Stanley Cup winning Blues roster. They seem to know better than the public lists and have the track record to back that up.

Could of got him with the Preds pick + had additional 1st + askorov